Sunday, February 8, 2015

Lancashire, 1642. Tensions run high as local notables side with King or Parliament.

In little Hedgehog-on-Lune the forces of the King rally around Sir Crofton Chase, those of Parliament around Goodfellow Pryce.

Assembling his men at the his ancestral home, Crumbly Old Place, Sir Crofton receives word that Pryce's men have formed for battle in a nearby meadow.

The Parliamentarians arrayed

Without a moment's hesitation (or thought for that matter, for such was his way) Sir Crofton marched his forces to the field.

The Royalists take the field

The scene was set for a rather less than epic clash between amateurs at arms!

This is my first test game using a set of rules derived from the grand tactical Napoleonic rules from my last post. The rules use cards to determine who gets to act and with how many units. Combat is resolved with 1d10. Simple rules allow for a difference in actions between units in command and those out of the commander's control, without those out of control units simply stopping as if someone had switched off their motors.

The Field of Battle

There are seven levels of experience that units may progress through over time. In this game all of the units start at the bottom rung, Raw. For simplicity's sake, and to reflect the less then knowledgeable nature of the combatants, this fight takes place in a featureless field.

The Parliamentarian force consists of three units of pike and shotte, two units of just shotte, and one unit of horse.

The Royalist force consists of three units of pike and shotte, one unit of dragoons, and two units of horse.

Looking to make up for his lack of horse, Pryce stationed one musketeer unit and his lone unit of horse on his left flank. His center consisted of a unit of musketeers supported by two of pike and shotte. His right consisted of a single unit of pike and shotte, tucked neatly into the flank of his center. Pryce took station in the center to better control his infantry.

Chase formed his infantry in the center, his horse on his right flank, and his dragoons linking the two. Devil take the left flank! Sir Crofton took station at the head of his horse.

Royalist Horse Advance

Quickly seizing the initiative, Chase set his dragoons to pester the musketeers screening the enemy horse. Some fine shooting and poor morale saw the poor musketeers in dire straits.

Sir Crofton directs his horse

Chase followed up the success of his dragoons by advancing both units of horse.

Parliamentarian horse charge

Seeing the plight of his musketeers, Pryce called for their withdrawal, and quickly charged with his sole unit of horse. The combat was indecisive and both units fell back to regroup.

Chase's horse withdraw

Chase's horse fell back behind their supports with the aim of regrouping.

The inexperienced Parliamentarian horse panic!

Mishap (although if you ask Sir Crofton it was the Hand of God), caused the Parliamentarian retreat to turn into a rout. Truth be told with such inexperienced troops on both sides, its surprising that the Royalist horse did not also rout.

With Pryce's left flank successfully dealt with, Sir Crofton turned his attention on the enemy center. The dragoons fired on one regiment, while two of the Royalist regiments exchanged shots with the musketeers screening the enemy center.

The End

Once again luck was on the side of Sir Crofton, with the loss of three enemy stands to none of his own.

Seeing how the day was going, without cavalry support and losses of five to nil, Goodfellow Pryce sounded the retreat.

Sir Crofton let his enemies go in peace, hoping against hope that this one battle would put an end to the rebellion...

Not bad for a first go. Found some areas that worked very well and others that need working on. The next battle will see all of the units save one rising from Raw to Trained. While it may seem strange to some to allow defeated units to gain experience, both sides have now "seen the elephant" and will be better prepared for their next meeting...with the exception of the musketeers from Pryce's left flank, who having lost two out of four stands will be so diluted by Raw replacements as to remain at Raw status for now.
All figures from and painted by 15mm.co.uk, the board is from Warzone GTS.